Exorcist beginning times 2

levista

1
Registered
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Messages
729
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13897,00.html

Call it the version you didn't expect to see.

In what may be a first for Hollywood, producers of Exorcist: The Beginning are looking to release two completely different versions of the horror prequel on DVD, according to Daily Variety: the original version, which was scrapped by the studio, and the completely reshot version that is due to be released this summer.

Say what? Is someone possessed?

Not quite. The film's backstory may prove as compelling as the final product, and producers could capitalize by documenting the seemingly cursed production on home video.

Morgan Creek, the company supervising the production, was unhappy with the footage turned in by original director Paul Schrader, claiming the film was devoid of the pea soup vomit and graphic bloodletting that made the original Exorcist so horrifying. Instead, Schrader reportedly offered up a creepy psychological thriller sans the gore.

Schrader and Morgan Creek eventually parted ways, citing "creative differences."

Looking for a more commercial scarefest, the producers hired writer Alexi Hawley to alter the script and director Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Deep Blue Sea) to reshoot the film. The budget was upped by $50 million, pushing the total production to nearly $100 million.

Harlin's version of Exorcist: The Beginning is now scheduled to hit theaters Aug. 20. But given the extraordinarily high cost of making the picture and potentially thorny screen-credit issues, Morgan Creek execs have reportedly decided to salvage Schrader's version and release it alongside Harlin's retooled take on DVD.

"This is going to sound unbelievable," Morgan Creek honcho James Robinson told Variety regarding the idea. "But we made a movie--twice. If you see the two movies, you wouldn't believe it's the same [cinematographer]."

No word whether Morgan Creek will have its distributor, Warner Bros., release both films in one package or separately. In any case, Exorcist: The Beginning won't likely be released until the holiday shopping period or in early 2005. Calls to Morgan Creek were not returned.

Despite the directorial shuffle, the prequel's plot pretty much remains the same, focusing on Satan-battling priest Father Merrin as he journeys to post-World War II Africa and confronts Pazuzu, the demon that later inhabited Linda Blair's Regan in the first movie. (Screen legend Max von Sydow played the aging Merrin, who was killed by the devil in the 1973 original.)

Harlin, who honed his horror chops on A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, shot a completely new version of Exorcist: The Beginning, not retaining any of Schrader's footage. Harlin kept Stellan Skarsgård as Merrin but recast several other key roles. He tapped Master and Commander's James D'Arcy for the role of Father Francis, originally played by Gabriel Mann, and replaced young actor Billy Crawford with Remy Sweeny.

Aside from the revolving-door directors and cast, Exorcist: The Beginning has been troubled from the beginning. The film was initially supposed to be directed by John Frankenheimer, but he died shortly before shooting began. As a result, Liam Neeson, who was originally supposed to play Merrin, had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, at which point producers brought in Schrader and Skarsgård.

As for Schrader, whose credits include Cat People and Light Sleeper, he's just happy his version will be resurrected.

"I'm very proud of my film, and I think it deserves to be seen," he told Variety. "If I get the DVD, I can say 'God bless you Renny; may your film do well.' "
 
The trailer is out there, but it uses a lot of Exorcist footage which isnt a good sign. To early to tell though to be fair :)
 
I love the other Exorcists, so I hope this one doesnt fuck it up. I mean, two and three were lame in some ways, but I really dig the idea of possession by a demon.
 
levista said:
claiming the film was devoid of the pea soup vomit and graphic bloodletting that made the original Exorcist so horrifying.
Yeah, that's why people found the the Exorcist frightening :)
 
Back
Top Bottom